The Miraculous Close
by TheGrantster
Summary: Ladybug and Cat Noir find themselves trapped! With imminent death closing in on them, they refuse to forfeit their Miraculous. Will Ladybug be able to figure a way out? A short story very loosely inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum." If you've read it, you'll see the comparison. Enjoy.


"How did we get ourselves into this mess?" Cat Noir gasps as he batters away at the steel door locking him and Ladybug into the barren jail cell.

"Patience, kitty." Ladybug says, sitting on the unyielding, concrete floor. A bitter chill swirls into the cell through the steel bars that crisscross the cell window. Ladybug wishes that she had worn something warmer as her teeth start to chatter.

The scent of pine sap piggybacks the wind blowing from the window. The sun has disappeared, and the moon has yet to come. Cat Noir huffs in frustration, unable to break through the door since he has already used his cataclysm. At the very least, he'll finally get to know his lady's true identity, since she too used her lucky charm, although it matters little at this point, since they'll both probably be dead by morning. Neither he nor his lady have any food, so there's no way his kwami, Plagg will be able to get his energy up for another transformation, at least not until after it's too late.

Cat Noir's banging against the door subsides, and he crawls over to where his lady is sitting in the middle of the cell. As if on cue, their Miraculous beep simultaneously. Only three minutes remain until they both return to normal.

"I'm going to try something that Master Fu told me." Ladybug explains from her cross-legged sitting position. She brings her hands together and takes a deep inhalation. Upon exhaling, the two opposite walls start to move!

"How'd you do that?" Cat Noir asks urgently. Ladybug opens her eyes and realizes that the walls are now closing in on them! "Because I want you to make it stop!" Cat Noir shrieks.

The walls press slowly towards each other. With each second, the cell gets narrower and narrower.

"I didn't do that. I swear!" Ladybug insists. Her blood pressure shoots through the roof as she starts to panic.

A maniacal laugh comes over the intercom and says, "Your time is nearly up, Ladybug and Cat Noir!"

"You won't get away with this!" Ladybug shouts at the intercom.

"Oh, but you see, Ladybug, I already have!" The voice replies, followed by more maniacal laughter. "If you give me the Miraculous, I might just spare your pathetic little lives!"

"You'll never get your hands on our Miraculous!" Ladybug persists.

"Suit yourself..." the voice answers, "I think that your conviction will leave you flattened!" Another outburst of maniacal laughter follows.

The Miraculous beep again in unison. They only have two minutes now! Ladybug frantically looks around the cell, desperate for something, anything that might get them out of this situation. She spots a rat scurry underneath the cell door, frightened by the moving walls, which have nearly halved the size of the cell by now! She observes several large blood stains on the closing walls, and if she thought her blood pressure was high before, it definitely is now!

Ladybug then takes a look at a panic-stricken Cat Noir, trying desperately to halt the advance of one of the walls. "Cat Noir, use your baton to prop up the walls!" Ladybug instructs.

Cat Noir instantly jumps back from the wall, whips out his baton, and extends it to keep the walls from closing in any further.

"Good thinking, m'Lady!" Cat Noir purrs.

Ladybug looks around again, hoping to find something else of use. The baton may have bought them some time, but they're still far from safety. She checks the ceiling, but it's too dark, and she can't see if there is an opening. _Beep beep_ , the Miraculous chant once more. They only have sixty seconds until they change back!

"Ummm Ladybug..!" Cat Noir calls.

Ladybug looks over at him. While she was looking around, the walls had continued to close in, and the baton had started to bend upwards! Within moments, the baton snaps in half, ejecting small fragments of shrapnel in several directions! Ladybug ducks so that she doesn't get hit by one. Then Cat Noir and Ladybug realize that the walls are now closing in faster!

Ladybug searches for some way to get out of this situation. Surely there has to be a way. There's always a way! She refuses to give up hope.

The walls are now only two meters apart, and they are both about to change back at any second! Cat Noir and Ladybug look at one another. The look in Cat Noir's eyes are that of total helplessness. Ladybug looks back at him, and the acceptance of her failure hits her like a bullet. There's no way out. There's nothing she can do. It's out of her control.

The wall gently presses on Cat Noir's back, and he wraps his arms around Ladybug's waist. Tears are already starting to form in his eyes. He knows these moments will be his last. Ladybug wraps her arms around Cat Noir's neck, and she looks up, into his glistening green eyes. She finds a small glimmer of comfort in them. Her hands slide down from the back of his neck to the edges of his jaw. Cat Noir's hands slide up Ladybug's lower back, and they gently pull her closer to him. She strokes his cheeks gently with her thumbs. Cat Noir places his forehead on hers, looking desperately into her beautiful bluebell eyes. The noses touch at the same time the walls squeeze their bodies together.

The Miraculous beep.

The eyes shut.

The lips touch.

The walls close.


End file.
